Are 48 port switches noisy?

[AyatollahPies]

One of the schools I support is having the network re-cabled and replacing their current (old) switches.

 

I was thinking about recommending 2x48 port Netgear Gb Switches, but after reading various reviews of different brands, the consensus seems to be that they sound like an 747 taking off.

 

The cabinet that they would be going in is located in a corridor (above arms length), so whilst it wouldn't disrupt any lessons, it would be audible in the corridor.

 

I'm tempted to suggest they get 4x24 port Netgear switches instead, as the deal I have found makes it cheaper, and may reduce noise too.

 

Does anyone know if there really is much of a noise difference?

[3s-gtech]

Not sure on the Netgear, but I have several modern HPs (2500 and 2600 series). While the 24s are fanless and silent, the 48s have fans, but they are very quiet. In comparison, some of my older HPs like the 2626 are very noisy, and I have to install them away from work areas.

[gshaw]

We've got the HP 2610 series and went for predominantly 24-port switches as I wanted silent operation for the switches. We had to install one or two 48-port models where we needed the density in the cabinet and although they're not loud it's still an irritating noise if you're in a quiet (and smaller sized) room.

 

If you have enough space in your satellite cabs go for 24-port models

[Geoff]

Switch fans (regardless of make) are usually cheap nasty affairs. Assuming you don't mind opening up the case, replacing the fan with a decent branded model is a good idea.

[glennda]

I've got HP 2610-48 port aslong as they are non poe they are quite if they are poe they make a racket

[nicholab]

Some switches use different fan designs Cisco use a bigger centrifugal fan.

[bossman]

I have Cisco 3650 x 48 port edge switches here and they are no more noisy than some of the HPs and Netgear ones, I would think that in the corridor would be just fine with whichever make you go for.

 

Once inside a cabinet you will not hear the fan if it has one.

[SYNACK]

Yuck, Netgear. Yes the 48 port ones are loud and only get louder. Don't count on it not effecting learning as we have had switches loud enough to disrupt classes from a corridor. It was alright to start with but got louder over time. We have had this noise issue with DLink, Netgear, 3Com and even to a lesser extent with hp.